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Current News

Tunisia: Draft Law to Create Special Court for Crimes Related to the Revolution

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(July 17, 2012) On July 16, 2012, Members of the Tunisian Constituent National Assembly submitted draft legislation for consideration that would create a special court for the purpose of adjudicating crimes related to the Tunisian revolution of January 2011. The draft directs the transfer of cases involving these crimes from the military courts to the newly established court, and expressly refers to crimes of murder and injury of protestors carried out by officials of the former regime.

Some Assembly Members stated that the military prosecution had failed during the process of interrogating suspects to identify the individuals responsible for injuring and killing the protestors. In response to that failure, the Members decided to propose the draft legislation, in order to transfer all the cases currently being adjudicated before the military courts to a special civil court. (A Bill to Create Special Courts for Cases Related to the Revolution [in Arabic], AL EMARAT AL YOUM (July 16, 2012).)

• Author: George Sadek More by this author
• Topic: Courts  More on this topic
• Jurisdiction: Tunisia  More about this jurisdiction

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Saudi Arabia: Family Court Permits Divorce of a Couple Based on Husband's Smoking Habit

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(July 17, 2012) On July 16, 2012, in a landmark decision, the Family Court of Saudi Arabia approved a request for a divorce submitted by a Saudi woman because of her husband's smoking habit. In a complaint submitted to the Court, the wife stated that she was diagnosed with a lung ailment as a result of inhaling the second-hand smoke from her husband's cigarettes. The Court ordered the immediate separation of the couple.

The Court decided that the husband's smoking habit inflicted great harm on the marital relationship, and this constituted sufficient grounds for divorce. The Court also foresaw extreme difficulty for the wife in continuing to live with a husband who smokes, especially after she had been diagnosed with lung disease. (Saudi Court Allows the Divorce of a Couple Because of the Smoker Husband [in Arabic], AL RAI (July 16, 2012).)

• Author: George Sadek More by this author
• Topic: Family  More on this topic
• Jurisdiction: Saudi Arabia  More about this jurisdiction

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Ethiopia: Federal Court Imposes Harsh Sentences on Journalists, Opposition Members

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(July 17, 2012) On July 13, 2012, the Ethiopian Federal Court handed down severe sentences, ranging from eight years to life imprisonment, against 20 journalists and opposition figures. (Aaron Maasho, Update 3-Ethiopia Jails Blogger, Reporters, Opposition Figures, REUTERS (July 13, 2012)). Among the convicted were an award-winning journalist, Eskinder Nega, who was sentenced to an 18-year prison term, and Andualem Arange, a member of the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party, sentenced to life in prison. (Id.) The Court convicted these individuals last month under provisions of the 2009 anti-terrorism law (Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, Proclamation No. 652/2009, 57 FEDERAL NEGARIT GAZETA OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA (Aug. 28, 2009), ETHIOPIAN LEGAL BRIEF), bringing the total number of convictions under this law to 34. (Terrorism Law Used to Crush Free Speech, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH [HRW] (June 27, 2012).)

International Outcry

The Ethiopian government is being widely criticized for using the anti-terrorism law to silence legitimate dissent. Following the conviction of these individuals, the United States Department of State issued a statement expressing deep concern about, among other issues, the "sanctity of Ethiopians' constitutionally guaranteed rights to freedom of the press and freedom of expression." (Ethiopia: U.S. State Dept. on Ethiopian Court's Conviction of Eskinder Nega, ALLAFRICA.COM (June 27, 2012))

HRW, which described the charges as politically motivated, called on the Ethiopian government to repeal the provisions of the anti-terrorism law, which it said is being "used to criminalize free expression and peaceful dissent." (HRW, supra.) The organization's Deputy Director, African Division, Leslie Lefkow, had this to say: This case shows that Ethiopia's government will not tolerate even the mildest criticism. … The use of draconian laws and trumped-up charges to crack down on free speech and peaceful dissent makes a mockery of the rule of law. (Id.)

In a press statement it released, the PEN American Center (an organization devoted to protecting free expression; see About PEN (last visited July 13, 2012)) expressed its anger over the conviction and long sentence imposed on Nega and called on the "United States and other donor nations to reevaluate their relationships with the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi." (PEN America Center, PEN Decries Harsh Sentencing of Eskinder Nega (July 13, 2012).)

The Anti-Terrorism Law

A major concern articulated about the anti-terrorism law is the vague nature of its provisions. One of them, for example, makes "encouragement of terrorism" an offense punishable with imprisonment of up to 20 years. . A person commits an offense under this provision if s/he:

publishes or causes the publication of a statement that is likely to be understood by some or all of the members of the public to whom it is published as a direct or indirect encouragement or other inducement to them to the commission or preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism … . (Anti-Terrorism Proclamation § 6, supra.)

According to HRW, the broad and vague nature of this and other provisions in the law violates a key criminal law principle, the principle of legality (HRW, supra.) This principle requires the state to clearly define acts that constitute a crime before anyone can be held responsible for their commission; in doing so, it aims to eliminate, or reduce, the potential for abuse. (Iulia Crisan, The Principles of Legality "Nullum Crimen, Nulla Poena Sine Lege" and Their Role, EFFECTIUS (2010).)

This principle is incorporated in the current Ethiopian Criminal Code. It provides that criminal law should specify crimes and penalties, that courts cannot punish acts not prohibited by law, and that a court may not create crimes by analogy. (The Criminal Code of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2004), art. 2, Ethiopian Federal Courts website.) The anti-terrorism law makes the Criminal Code applicable only to the extent that the Code is consistent with the anti-terrorism law provisions (Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, § 36, supra). This effectively suspends the principle of legality.

• Author: Hanibal Goitom More by this author
• Topic: Human rights  More on this topic
• Jurisdiction: Ethiopia  More about this jurisdiction

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World Trade Organization: Accession for Least Developed Countries Being Streamlined

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(July 17, 2012) On July 6, 2012, Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) validated a decision of the Sub-Committee on Least Developed Countries to streamline and facilitate the WTO accession process for least developed countries (LDCs). According to a WTO statement about this recent action, to date 32 of the 48 LDCs listed by the United Nations are WTO Members, four of them having acceded after the establishment of the WTO in 1995. A fifth LDC, Vanuatu, completed the accession process in 2011, but has not yet completed the domestic ratification process. In addition, ten LDCs are at present engaged in the WTO accession process. (Members Streamline Accession for Poorest Countries, WTO website (July 6, 2012); About LDCs, U.N. Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) website (last visited July 13, 2012).)

The proposed decision, among other matters, sets benchmarks for acceding LDCs' market access negotiations. The decision has five key components: benchmarks for agricultural and industrial goods, broad parameters for market access for services, transparency in accession negotiations, access to special and differential treatment provisions and favorable consideration of requests for additional transition periods, and technical assistance for the accession process. (Id.; WTO Sub-Committee on Least Developed Countries, Recommendations by the Sub-Committee on LDCs to the General Council to Further Strengthen, Streamline and Operationalize the 2002 LDC Accession Guidelines, WT/COMTD/LDC/21 (July 6, 2012), DOCUMENTS ONLINE [a WTO database].)

In regard to technical assistance, the proposed decision states that the WTO Secretariat will draw up framework plans for the acceding LDC, "to achieve better coordination and more effective delivery of technical assistance at all stages of the accession process. These plans will be shaped by input from the acceding LDCs themselves, and will be adjusted over time to reflect changes in their needs." (Members Streamline Accession for Poorest Countries, supra.)

The guidelines developed by the Sub-Committee on LDCs were drawn up at the request of WTO Ministers, in order "to bolster and make more specific" the 2002 guidelines on accession of least-developed countries, which had been adopted to facilitate the accession negotiation process for LDCs. (Members Streamline Accession for Poorest Countries, supra; Accession of Least-Developed Countries: Decision of 10 December 2002, WT/L/508 (Jan. 20, 2003), Documents Online.)

According to WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy,

LDC accessions have a special systemic value because they demonstrate the development dimension of the Organization. Trade opening and legislative reforms provide a tool for faster economic growth and poverty alleviation. However, it is also true that the WTO accession is not an easy process, especially given the limited capacity in many of the world's poorest countries. The agreement reached by WTO Members recognizes this careful balance. These improved guidelines provide a simpler framework for the entry of LDCs into the WTO family. It is another example of positive action in favour of the world's poorest countries. (Members Streamline Accession for Poorest Countries, supra.)

The decision will be submitted to the WTO General Council on July 25 and 26 for formal adoption. (Id.)

• Author: Wendy Zeldin More by this author
• Topic: Trade and commerce  More on this topic
• Jurisdiction: World Trade Organization  More about this jurisdiction

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Turkey: Law Restricting Caesarean Births

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(July 17, 2012) Turkey's Parliament passed a new law on July 4, 2012, to limit births by Cesarean section to cases of medical necessity. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had declared his opposition to C-section births in May and referred to abortion as a crime; his remarks reportedly were the impetus for the adoption of the law. (Cesarean Births Restricted to Cases of Medical Necessity, TODAY'S ZAMAN (July 4, 2012).)

Debate on the issue was also sparked by the Ministry of Health's recent release of statistics on the number of C-section births in the country. According to those figures, in 2009, 39.3% of all deliveries in public hospitals, 61.8% of those in private hospitals, and 63.2% of those in university hospitals were by C-section. Although 2011 rates saw a decrease in the number of such births in public hospitals to 36.8%, the rate in private hospitals had increased to 66.6% and in university hospitals to 65.9%. (Id.)

Earlier in the year, the Ministry of Health launched a media campaign to combat the increasing rate of C-section births. It also set a deadline of 2013 to reduce the rate of such operations to 35% of deliveries. (Id.) In the United States, it was reported in December 2011 that the national Cesarean rate for 2010 was 32.8%, which was a decline of 0.1% from 2009. This was "the first dip in the national rate in over a decade." (Rates for Total Cesarean Section, Primary Cesarean Section, and Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC), United States, 1989-2010, Childbirth Connection website (last visited July 13, 2012).)

• Author: Wendy Zeldin More by this author
• Topic: Health and safety  More on this topic
• Jurisdiction: Turkey  More about this jurisdiction

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